I don’t even know what commercial had played when F piped up from where he was playing on the floor and said, “Mama, what does ‘happily ever after’ mean?” with the curiosity that only a little kid can possess.

It means ‘happy forever’, I responded, not really looking up from the article I was writing for my YMC blog.

“I think I’m living happily ever after. I like that,” he said quietly, and then climbed onto the couch next to me and put his head on my shoulder. I immediately stopped writing, put my laptop down and hugged him so hard he told me I was going to squish him. He asked why I had hugged him a moment later.

“Because you’re my happily ever after,” I told him.

And happily ever after, I’ve decided, is a state of mind. And it’s where I’ll be if you need me.